Environment

Gigantic Underground Ocean 400 Miles beneath Earth’s Surface Discovered

Researchers from Northwestern University have discovered an enormous underground ocean 400 miles beneath earth's surface. The lately discovered ocean is three times the volume of the oceans on earth's surface.

Steve Jacobsen, Geophysicist of Northwestern University, and team were able to make the discovery with the help of 2,000 seismometers. Researchers studied seismic waves produced by around 500 North Americans earthquakes.

Jacobsen said the ocean is contained within highly-pressurized rock called ringwoodite. Scientists hope that their findings would be able to throw light on where earth's oceans came from.

After studying the speed of the waves at differnet depths, scientists were able to know which types of rocks the waves were passing through and that is how, researchers concluded about the presence of ringwoodite in the transition zone 400 miles down.

Ringwoodite is a blue-colored rock that acts like a sponge due to a crystal structure allowing it to trap hydrogen and water. Jacobsen added that the hidden water may be able to explain why they have been able to remain the same for millions of years.

"If the stored water wasn't there, it would be on the surface of the Earth, and mountaintops would be the only land poking out", said Jacobsen. The new research adds to the existing theories that oceans originate on earth.

However, more tests will be required to move forward. The current research could only finalize that the massive reservoir exists below the continental United States. But it is unclear how far this ocean extends.